Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2008-09: Jonathan Iilahti shared the goaltending duties for the Espoo Blues U18 team with Finland U18 team backup Erno Suomalainen. In 19 games he was 9-10 with a 3.45 GAA and .898 save percentage.

2009-10: Iilahti played for the Espoo Blues junior team in Finland. At the U18 junior level, he had a 2.49 GAA and .917 save percentage in 14 games and an even better save percentage in the playoffs (.921 in 10 games). At the U18 World Championships, Iilahti's bronze-medal performance drew a lot of interest. A product of the same Espoo Blues junior program that produced Islanders' 2009 2nd-round-pick Mikko Koskinen and Suomalainen, he proved to be much more than just someone to work the bench door.

2010-11: Iilahti played six games for Kiekko-Laser in Mestis (Finland's second league) and spent the majority of the season with Espoo Blues' U20 team. Iilahti was 1-5 with a 3.84 GAA and .861 save percentage. In 18 games with Blues U20 he was 13-5 with a 2.76 GAA and .901 save percentage.

2011-12: Iilahti saw limited ice time shuffling between the Espoo Blues and Vaasa Sport clubs in Finland. He was 0-2-1 with a 3.38 goals against and .889 save percentage in four SM-Liiga games with the Blues as veterans Patrik Galbraith and Petri Koisto made the bulk of the starts. He had his best success playing with Vaasa Sport in Mestis – going 8-4 with 2 shutouts with a 1.80 goals against and .934 save percentage in 12 games. Iilahti also played goal for the Blues and Sport U20 teams. He was not tendered a contract by the Canucks in June 2012; becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Future

Currently on loan with Sport in Mestis - also appeared in two games for Espoo Blues in SM-Liiga.

Yes, Mike Gillis did attend the draft. Apparently not liking the looks of things in the first round, the Vancouver Canucks‘ General Manager sent the 25th overall pick, along with Michael Grabner and Steve Bernier, to Florida in exchange for Keith Ballard and Victor Oreskovich. The Panthers took Quinton Howden, who has yet to become a full-fledged NHL player, but the Canucks might have taken a gamble on a player still on the board like Evgeny Kuznetzov, Brock Nelson, or Emerson Etem who have done so. Read more»